Articles May

Camila's Hot News

By: Camila Salcedo

In this monthly section I share the hottest news of each week of the month. Every month I summarize and write about news items of the past month that are relevant to this day. As you all know the news of this month has again mainly about the Coronavirus, which is why I chose to bring you some different news highlights! This month I wrote about murdering hornets, Zayn and Gigi's baby, negative oil prices and UFO pictures! Do you want to know more?

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Murder Hornets (Image: @GettyImages)

So far this 2020 has brought us a lot of surprises, If we do a little recap; we had fires all over Australia, then we started being part of a pandemic and now the murder hornets are taunting us as well. These insects are described as big wasps who are capable of killing humans, in countries like Japan these hornets kill at least 30 people a year. But, this is not what most farmers are worried about, they are a bigger threat to the pollination managed by bees, due to the fact that they are their main predator. Other characteristic of these insects is that they are not an easy target to eradicate, the only way to do it is by killing the main queen and the whole nest.

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Corona Baby news! (Image: @GigiHadid)

At the 23rd of April, supermodel Gigi Hadid celebrated her 25th birthday with her beloved family and boyfriend Zayn Malik. She posted different pictures of this isolation celebration of her birthday. After she posted a boomerang with her sister Bella and Zayn, people were spreading a pregnancy rumor that she later confirmed in Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show. She said that she was happy for all the support she has been getting from people around her and her fans as well, but she mentioned that this was not the way she wanted to share the news.

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Negative oil prices (Image: @bussinessinsiders)

The Coronavirus has been having a big impact on our daily lives, we changed our whole routine by staying at home, and by staying at home we stopped doing everyday activities that lead to declining economic activities as well. As this happened like a domino effect, the prices in oil decreased until they dropped to negative. The experts stipulate that we are facing an economic crisis that is not going to get better until we come back to our everyday routine or we change our whole lives to adapt to the situation that should be controlled by 2021.

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Photos of UFO (Image: @Pentagon)

Last month the Department of Defence of the United States disseminated images of three different approaches of unidentified aerial phenomena recorded by pilots of the armed forces of the country in 2004 and 2015. These objects are not identified by any country, nonetheless the Pentagon have not claimed that they could be signs of life outside the world. These images have become viral and there has been a lot of controversy towards them. Right now we know that these images are official and veritable, however it is a personal decision when it comes to believing what they are and from where they come from.

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Coming up Off-Screen

By: Sophie Dijkman

In this monthly section you will be informed about what is coming up Off-Screen! Stay up to date on all of our fun media related events, parties and trips. From the themes to the sign-up dates, this update will give you all the information you need for the events. Did anything in the calendar spark your attention? Check out down below what is coming up Off-Screen even in times of quarantaine!

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Off-Screen's Internship Week

Did you have big plans for a possible internship? Did you totally forget about applying for one because of the virus? Do you have no clue what kind of internship you want to do? The Acquisition Committee has got your back! The committee has searched for the best media-related internships and will be sharing them with you during the week of the 11th of May. Every day a different committee member will share internships within a certain branch. So, do you need any inspiration? Don't forget to check it out!

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What: Off-Screen's Internship Week

When: Week of 11th of May

Who: Any interested Off-Sceener!

Where: Facebook

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Off-Screen's Online Borrels

Do you dearly miss your fellow Off-Screeners and do you want to hear what everyone has been up to? Come join one of Off-Screen's online Discord borrels! Tonight, at the 11th of May, the Board and SAC will welcome you on Discord for the fifth online borrel. In Discord we have facilitated different rooms, such as the bar, tables, toilet and even Disco Dolly, so you can also privately chat with some of your friends. Feel free to chat, play online games, play drinking games and dance! Will we see you tonight? Check out the FB event for more information!

This event gives Off-Screeners the opportunity to showcase their photography skills while being in quarantine. During the week of the 18th of May people can send in pictures that describe their quarantine experience. It can be either one photo or a collage, be creative! You can send your pictures to ana@offscreen.nl and the MEAC will post their favorites on social media! Keep an eye out for the upcoming Facebook event for more information.

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What: Staying in Focus

When: Week of 18th of May

Who: Any interested Off-Screener!

Where: Facebook

My Take on Murphy's Law

By: Alexia Radu

Somehow, through a series of crazy – more or less accidental – events that happened in March, I ended up moving from my apartment in Amsterdam to living in Liesborn, a German village whose population accounts to no more than 2000 people (mentioning here that most of them are seniors – just to get across the message of how your regular “going out scene” is quite limited to say the least). Don’t get me wrong, with this pandemic going on it wouldn’t really make a difference anyways; but, by going out I’m not referring to clubs or bars, more like to average destinations like restaurants or cafes. Delusion would be the advisable course of action but a spot on description of Liesborn would realistically be: a pizzeria serving the worst pizza I have ever eaten in my life (you would think a Diavola would have salami right?), a park that is actually part of a forest where you shouldn’t be too surprised if you come across some sheep, a lot of houses with perfectly looked after gardens (so perfect that it’s on the verge of becoming creepy) and lastly, cattle (a lot). In spite of these newly detected issues, I attempted to make the best out of it and focus on the things I could occupy my time with rather than pining over the ones I couldn’t do. Now that the preamble has been dealt with, with a rather low degree of complaining I must add, let me get into the story. I thought this could be the time for me to start exercising more. Full disclosure: I’m not a sporty person and it’s quite hard for me to motivate myself to really get into it so this was a first. Since my family is into biking I followed suit and started to bike every week: first week we biked 15 km, second 30 and this weekend 72 km in one day. Yes, 72 km. Yes, on an electric bike but that still involves moving your legs, staying on the bike roughly 4-5 hours and dealing with the constant dryness in your throat and insects biting you. However, what really landed me into my current position was something else: a holy trinity of disaster I might call it. What do I mean by that? I didn’t think of putting sunscreen on so, obviously, I got both my hands fully sunburnt until the line of my T-shirt. Secondly, staying in the scorching sun all day long led to a mild fever later. And lastly, eating fries for lunch was not one of my most brilliant ideas considering that we still had 36 km to go. Maybe Liesborn isn’t that boring as I originally thought.

Noa's Confessional

By: Noa Jansen

Noa’s confessional: a place where you can spill the tea and tell all your sins.

In this sacrament, Noa can forgive sins in Off-Screen’s name. With all the crazy stuff happening within Off-Screen’s walls, it was about time for us to have a safe place to tell your most embarrassing, weird, unusual and striking stories for them to be heard by all of us. So from now on, when something special happens to you, you have something on your mind or there’s something else that you really want to share with the rest of Off-Screen, send an email to noa@offscreen.nl, tell me in person or reveal it to me in a dream.

I decided that, just like in a real confessional, everything should be and stay anonymous. And remember, this is a safe place where everyone can come to terms with his/her sins, where judgement is a word that doesn’t belong in our vocabulary, and where we can all enjoy your embarrassing stories.

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Confession:

"So, I was 15 years old and I was wearing fake nails. At one point one of the nails fell off, so I had to reattach it with special 1 second glue. However, I really needed to pee so I thought I’d just take my nail and the glue with me to the toilet. So, I’m sitting on the toilet and I’m putting the superglue on my fake nail, when at one point the nail falls between my legs. As a reflex, I quickly put my legs together to catch the fake nail. After I’ve picked it up I put the nail on my finger, but I notice that I can’t pull my legs apart anymore and slowly start to realise that I just stuck my legs together with superglue. So, obviously I start to panic and scream out for my mom, who runs over and sees me sitting on the toilet with my legs stuck together. My dad also comes to watch and thinks it’s so funny that he gets the camera to videotape the whole thing. With the three of us we tried to pull my legs apart by using acetone and it just wouldn’t work… At one point my mom said that we had to go to the first aid because it was taking ages. You can understand that I really didn’t want to go to the hospital in my bare ass, since my pants were at my ankles and I couldn’t pull them up. After trying some more, I decided to put on a skirt and try to make my way to the hospital. This means that I was trying to walk to the car with my legs stuck together, without underpants while wearing a skirt… I have never been more embarrassed. At one point we were in the parking garage of the hospital and I cried for ages because I really didn’t want to go in without wearing any underpants. So, after convincing my parents to try to get my legs apart one more time in the car, they luckily succeeded. But yeah… it was pretty a pretty embarrassing moment for me.”

Humans Off-Screen

By: Elisa Boulter & Jessie Swart

In Humans Off-Screen, we got to know a few lovely off-screeners, we learned new information about them, their likes and dislikes, what they do in their spare time, their future goals. We’re really grateful and appreciative that we were able to get to know some of you and we thought it was only fair for you to get to know us! We truly enjoyed this experience, thank you Off-Screen!

In our final month of Off-Screen Live, we sit down and get personal

by playing the game “We’re Not Really Strangers”.

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What are you overthinking right now?

J: I think right now, personally, I’m overthinking mainly my future. I hate thinking about the future but now going into my third year and planning it, I’m starting to think about “what about after my third year? Do I stay in Amsterdam? Do I go back home? Which home, Dubai, or South Africa?” It’s a weird feeling for me mainly cause I’m typically more of a ‘see how it goes’ person. Elisa, how did you manage to deal with this, especially cause you’re finishing with your third year now, how do you actually feel about planning for the future?

E: Oh I’m definitely overthinking the future at the moment too! I’m currently writing my thesis, so that’s already a bunch of stress. But I’m also currently looking for an internship, so I’m having a lot of interviews with different media companies and I’m having to provide different assessments - so it’s quite a lot ! On top of that I’m looking for a potential new flat and am on the lookout for a part-time job… I definitely am quite stressed ahahah

What’s your favourite part of yourself that isn’t physical?

J: One thing I like about me is that I don’t really hold grudges. I tend to let go of things quite easily or I don’t stay mad for too long. It kind of shows me when something really hurts because if I’m taking longer than usual to get over it, I know, okay clearly this hurt, and then I can ask myself, why did it hurt so much? Haha I guess it opens me up to more self-reflection? Which I guess is never a bad thing!

E: I think that I’m resilient. I have had a fair amount of trouble but I’ve always managed to keep it together and carry on going forward. It’s been a hell of a ride at times especially in the past few years, but I guess that’s what comes with being alive.

What have you been taking for granted lately?

E: I realised yesterday actually that I’ve been taking for granted the time I get to spend with my family during quarantine. I took it as a normal thing, but now I realise how good of a time it has been! it’s great to be together since it doesn’t happen very often! We’re usually all in different countries or different parts of the same country, so it’s so nice to be together 24/7!

J: Oh for sure! I think I’ve definitely also been taking my family for granted. I think it's because being home I immediately feel comfortable to go about with my day and forget that it’s such a good time for spending time with each other and becoming even closer. It’s also made me realize that I take my friends who live in Dubai for granted. When I’m living my life in Amsterdam I think I can easily forget to put that extra effort into the relationships with them because I know I can always see them when we’re home, but now being home and I can’t see them I notice how important those friendships are to me.

Is there a feeling you miss?

E: I miss the innocence I had when I was younger. I guess that’s a feeling that pretty much everyone has - the innocence of being completely unaware of what is going on in the world and living in a perfect bubble that is childhood. It sounds pretty depressing but at the same time it reminds me how good of a childhood I’ve had and that it’s just me being nostalgic. A pretty common feeling I suppose !

J: This is more a sign of the times, but I miss the feeling of like a date to look forward to. Like you know when you have like a flight to look forward to or like a concert or simple things like even class, okay… maybe not class. Maybe it's cause I just missed Harry Styles’ concert it feels like this, it hits too close. But also I guess now when the time comes I’ll appreciate them even more.

What’s your favorite song lyric you can think of off the top of your head?

J: For me, it’s from the song Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd “we’re just two lost souls swimming in a fishbowl, year after year”

E: Right now, the one lyric that pops into my head is from the song Walk on The Wild Side by Lou Reed “I said, hey honey, take a walk on the wild side”. It always gets me so excited for the future!

I feel loved when ____.

J: It’s the little things! When people remember like tiny little things or habits of yours. Like my friend got me a toothbrush for my birthday last year, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. I know it sounds so stupid out of context haha. I have like a weird thing with toothbrushes… like I collect them kind of. I don’t know why I’m admitting this.

E: I’d also say that it’s just the simplest things in life that make me feel loved. I love having a laugh with my loved ones. And most times, I take a break and think to myself how lucky I am to have them in my life.. Almost like in movies, when the scene turns into slo-mo and a voice-over narrator explains how much they realised they love that person - that’s me in my head all the time !!!

What was your first impression of each other?

E: The first time I met Jessie was at our first reporter committee meeting. And although we didn’t get to speak to each other on a personal level, I instantly liked her. There was something about Jessie that felt like home, and we instantly clicked (unless that’s my side of the story haha). It’s at that same meeting that we decided to work together on Humans off-screen even though we literally didn’t know each other ! So I’m guessing we both made a good first impression on each other ;) What about your first impression of me Jessie ? I’m very curious now ahah

J: haha I actually instantly liked you too! In the meeting, I noticed that you were really kind and had a positive vibe to you so I knew I would enjoy doing Humans Off-Screen with you, and not just work together, I knew we could be friends too. I think for me when I really realized we click so well is when we filmed the first Humans Off-Screen episode. After filming we sat and chatted and drank tea and I could so easily open up to you and it felt comfortable.

Something that brought a smile to my face this week was ____.

J: This happened today actually! I was talking to my cousin and he told me I would be a liability in a zombie apocalypse. The conversation was just really funny to me because I genuinely got so offended he thought that.

E: My best friend came to see me (at my gate). We hadn’t seen each other in ages because of the lockdown currently going on in France. But earlier this week, whilst she went grocery shopping for her family she decided to drop by my house, we chatted and laughed for hours on end, it was lovely.

Self-love is ___.

E: Self-love is fully accepting who you are as a person. Accepting the fact that you will have both positive and negative traits. I really care about this topic because I’ve seen a lot of my friends going down a vicious path of self hatred - whether it was because of their physical appearance or because of a lack of confidence in other areas ….

At the end of the day, you are your own best friend - the only one you will have to live with your whole life, from beginning to end. So, there’s no point in obsessing over details. And it’s about time we all learn how to love ourselves, it’s so important for a healthy mind !

J: I think self-love is doing things or making choices that you know will be best for you in the long-run, putting yourself first when it matters. Friendships for example, if you feel like you’re in this friendship and you’re not treated right or the way you deserve to be treated then it's okay to tell the other person that you deserve more. If they are worth it, they won’t hold it against you and if they do then honestly their true colors are shown and it’s not in your best interest to be in a friendship where you’re not heard.

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When was the last time you were able to use your pain to help someone else?

J: I’ve used my experience with my mental health and anxiety to help someone I noticed was struggling. I have this tendency to hide when I’m struggling with my mental health, especially anxiety, because in my past honestly, it felt like some people wouldn’t believe me if I said anything because I didn’t “look like I was struggling” – which whenever I think about makes me mad because what does someone who is struggling look like? I remember hiding every time I was having a panic attack and it started to get in the way of life. And I noticed this behavior in this person and I spoke to them about my experiences and I wanted to make them feel heard, I didn’t try to push them to tell me their story because that’s up to them if they feel comfortable, but I shared the methods I use to help me and I wanted them to understand that how they feel is nothing to be ashamed about.

E: I wouldn’t know when the last time was but I definitely have used my pain to understand people. I’ve struggled a great deal with anxiety in the past, and I think it will never leave me really. It’s been an intense experience because I’ve had severe panic attacks and sometimes they would happen on multiple occasions in a day. My friends and family say I’m a good listener, I think it’s because I’ve experienced a lot of pain myself so I can relate to people’s pain (most times). I don’t think I was that good at listening to people and being empathetic prior to experiencing something as strong as this, so it’s definitely taught me how to listen to people and help them.

What about yourself is hardest to admit?

J: I’m so bad at expressing how I feel. So bad. I don’t really stand up for myself because I actually just don’t know how to express to the other person how they made me feel, instead I pretend that I just don’t care enough. Which sucks cause I do care, I’m actually a very sensitive person, which I think is obvious to people who know me. It’s such a bad habit of mine.

E: I would say I have pretty much the same problem! I’m quite proud so I hate to admit something’s hurt me or annoyed me. I also hate crying in front of people or expressing the fact that I’m hurting.

Thinking about it now, it might be more to do with the fact that I like my privacy rather than being proud - but it could also very well be a mix of both.

How are you, really?

E: I’m good, stressed overall but still good ! I think that everything is going to turn out well. I’m a pretty firm believer that everything happens for a reason. So, I’m confident in what the future will bring and am very much excited to see where life is going to take me next !

Quarantine is a good opportunity to think about the future and to plan ahead, it’s given me time to prepare for next year but also time to reflect on myself and my feelings.

J: Overall, I’m good! I think that quarantine has had its ups and downs definitely, and it made me have to face a lot of inner feelings which I normally bottle up or put in the back of my mind whilst I focus on other things. But I needed to confront those feelings because it helped me get into a better place mentally. Now I’m just doing little things that make me happy and spending time with family.